1. Introduction
Background
This document contains the Health Impact Assessment for the draft fourth East Sussex Local Transport Plan (LTP4) for public consultation. Once adopted, LTP4 will replace the third plan (LTP3) adopted over a decade ago in 2011. Our third plan was intended to last until 2026, though many of its proposals have either been delivered, are in progress or have been withdrawn. Our new plan covers the period 2024 to 2050 and builds on some of those existing proposals as they remain essential to addressing the challenges that affect East Sussex’s economy, environment, and quality of life. Since adopting LTP3, policy context has changed significantly on a national, sub-regional and local scale, affecting how and when people travel, and why they travel.
Public health and environmental concerns such as climate change, have increased in importance, with governmental policies also changing to reflect this. Simultaneously, economic decline and changing user habits have placed greater focus on redeveloping the economy and raising productivity levels, whilst also improving community services and facilities to accommodate post-COVID 19 changes.
Approach to the Health Impact Assessment
As part of the development of an equitable and sustainable Local Transport Plan, the preparation of an Integrated Impact Assessment (IIA), which this Health Impact Assessment (HIA) is part of, has been prepared to identify, evaluate, and mitigate sustainability, environmental, health and equalities concerns. Further information on equalities can be found in the Equalities Impact Assessment – a component part of the Integrated Impact assessment.
Health is influenced by several complex factors. Health Impact Assessment is a process to identify the likely health effects of proposals, policies, and projects and to implement measures to limit negative impacts and maximise the benefits of positive impacts. The purpose of this HIA is to act as a device to integrate health throughout the LTP planning process.
We have prepared this HIA in line with the Government’s current published guidance: Health Impact Assessment in spatial planning - GOV.UK, given the Local Transport Plan is a spatial plan for transport. As part of this, we have drawn upon Public Health Outcomes Framework indicators which are applicable to planning, by screening health and wellbeing metrics with the Local Health Fingertips tool. Appendix A contains a health-specific policy review, which we have conducted to ensure that the key themes of national, regional, and local policy are considered as part of this assessment.
We have ensured quality assurance as part of our HIA process, by objectively assessing spatial planning priorities in the context of health, using high-quality baseline evidence. These evidence-based findings will be used to provide recommendations, with the people of East Sussex in mind, to reduce health inequalities and protect community health. The findings from this HIA have been scrutinised and assessed by Public Health officers at the Council, and this document will be subject to feedback through public consultation.
This HIA has been undertaken on the draft LTP. The draft LTP will go out for public consultation, to gather feedback on the proposed policies and schemes. Following public consultation and finalisation of the LTP there may be additional considerations that are relevant to the health determinants which are the subject of this report, and as a result this HIA may need to be updated.
The contents of the LTP and its constituent elements (particularly the objectives and intended outcomes) are broad and it is at detailed scheme design and implementation where its full effects need to be considered and mitigated against. It is not possible to guarantee that the effect of the LTP will result in uniform positive impacts because a key consideration will be the way in which the LTP is delivered. This means that the HIA will need to be developed further when the LTP is delivered.
Vision
The LTP envisages:
“An inclusive transport system that connects people and places, is decarbonised, safer, resilient, and supports our natural environment communities and businesses to be healthy, thrive and prosper.”
Objectives
There are six main objectives underpinning the vision for safer, more sustainable transport in East Sussex:
- Deliver safer and accessible journeys;
- Support healthier lifestyles and communities;
- Decarbonise transport;
- Conserve and enhance our local environment;
- Support sustainable economic growth; and
- Strengthen the resilience of our transport networks.
Outcomes
For the purposes of the LTP, a set of outcomes have been identified resulting from each of the objectives.
1) Deliver safer and accessible journeys
- Create enhanced and inclusive transport networks for all users.
- Contribute to reducing the number of casualties and collisions on our transport networks.
- Contribute to improving personal safety for all journeys.
- Improve interchange between travel modes.
- Improve access to key local services by all modes.
2) Support healthier lifestyles and communities
- Increase the proportion of walking, wheeling and cycling journeys.
- Increase active travel and public transport journeys through education, training, travel behaviour change initiatives and information.
- Redesign road space to balance the needs of different road users, including encouraging people to walk, wheel, cycle and use the bus.
- Support reduction of emissions to improve air quality.
- Mitigate noise pollution through technology and design.
- Improve access to green spaces, public rights of way and leisure and health facilities.
3) Decarbonise transport
- Increase the proportion of people travelling by walking, wheeling, cycling, public and shared transport.
- Facilitate the uptake of ultra-low and zero-emission vehicles for journeys, through the delivery of supporting infrastructure.
- Work with partners to decarbonise transport and tackle climate change.
- Support clean technologies and fuels that contributes towards the decarbonisation of transport.
4) Conserve and enhance our local environment
- Conserve and enhance our local and natural environment by mitigating negative impacts of transport design and delivery.
- Enhance and create attractive and connected communities and public spaces.
- Support habitat connectivity and increase in biodiversity through the delivery of enhanced and new transport infrastructure and public spaces.
5) Support sustainable economic growth
- Facilitate the efficient movement of goods and people.
- Contribute to reducing deprivation and inequality through improved accessibility for all to employment, education and training.
- Attract and retain businesses and a skilled workforce in the county.
- Enhance sustainable access to key visitor and cultural destinations.
- As the local highway authority, engage with our Local Planning Authorities to deliver sustainable and well-connected housing and employment growth identified in their Local Plans.
6) Strengthen the resilience of our transport networks
- Improve journey time reliability for people and businesses.
- Enable transport journeys to be resilient, flexible and adaptable and recover quickly from emergencies and events.
- Improve the condition of highway and other transport infrastructure and assets.